The ARES E-Letter
Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************
January 18, 2012
Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE
In This Issue:
IN THIS ISSUE
- Army MARS and Winlink Update
- Reminder to ARRL local Emergency Coordinators and Section Emergency
Coordinators
- Nacogdoches (Texas) ARC Assists in Angelina River Bottom Fire
- Operators to Demo EmComms in Michigan
- Michigan EmComm Group Selects One of its Own for Award
- Letters: COML
- ARES Supports Major Extreme Racing Event in Kentucky
- K1CE For a Final
_________
==> ARMY MARS AND WINLINK UPDATE
According to Pudge Forrester, AAA9GL, government liaison for Army MARS
, Lieutenant General Susan Lawrence
has reversed the decision to phase out the use of the WinLink 2000
global radio e-mail system by Army MARS
members.
Ms Lawrence stated that the Army, after reviewing its capabilities, had
decided that the continued use of WinLink 2000 was a valuable asset to
Army MARS members and agencies that were using the service. She issued
a statement to that effect on December 21, 2011. On January 5, 2012,
the Chief of Army MARS officially notified his membership that the
phase out notice had been rescinded.
Army MARS members and agencies who had been using the service hailed
the decision by Ms Lawrence and resumed use of WinLink 2000.
==> REMINDER TO ARRL LOCAL EMERGENCY COORDINATORS AND SECTION EMERGENCY
COORDINATORS
Do not forget to submit your 2011 annual reports to ARRL HQ. EC's may
access form C "EC Annual Report" on the Public Service page
. The form may
be downloaded as a Word document. Once completed email it to ARRL Field
Services Supervisor, Steve Ewald, WV1X, sewald@arrl.org or you may mail
it to ARRL HQ, 225 Main St. Newington, CT 06111.
Section Emergency Coordinators are reminded to submit their monthly SEC
reports. This can be done online
.
==> NACOGDOCHES (TEXAS) ARC ASSISTS IN ANGELINA RIVER BOTTOM FIRE
"Command, this is Lilbert."
"Go ahead Lilbert; this is Command."
"Command, a civilian stopped by just now and notified us that some
heavy smoke is visible south of County Road 343 within a mile of the
Angelina River bridge. She says the smoke was not there earlier."
"Roger, Lilbert. We will pass that information on. KD5GEN"
"Thank you, Command. KE5EXX"
This was one of the QSOs between Rusty Sanders, KD5GEN, and myself on
the afternoon of September 7, 2011. Sanders was at the Angelina River
Bottom Fire Command Center that was established in the small town of
Douglass, Texas. I was located in a small church in the Lilbert
community that was acting as a supply point for the firefighters.
Douglass is just three miles north of where the Piney Woods of East
Texas was ablaze.
Earlier that day, the Nacogdoches County Sheriff's Office had contacted
Kent Tannery, KD5SHM, and asked if the Nacogdoches Amateur Radio Club
could provide communications assistance to the firefighters. Tannery
then called the Nacogdoches County Emergency Management Planning
Section Chief, Tara Triana, to find out what was needed and where.
Tannery said, "They told me they wanted three hams at the three places
(Douglass, Lilbert, and Sacul), but then Tara told me they needed help
monitoring the three different fire locations that were using the Texas
Fire frequencies and relay for them."
The State of Texas has an Interoperability Channel Plan that allows
multiple agencies to communicate with each other. In the case of Texas
Fire1, Texas Fire2, and Texas Fire3, these are all VHF simplex
frequencies. The density of the forest, as well as the distance between
outposts, were barriers for firefighters' communication with each other
or the command post, with their VHF hand-helds in simplex mode.
Tannery continued, "Then I knew what to take and what we needed to do
and looked up those frequencies and e-mailed them to Army Curtis,
AE5P." Curtis immediately activated an emergency net on the club's
147.32 MHz repeater and coordinated activating Rusty Sanders, KD5GEN,
to man the Command Center; Kent Tannery, KD5SHM, to operate from Sacul;
and myself, KE5EXX, to operate from Lilbert.
We ended up using two ICOM IC-2720 units and a Yaesu FT-1500 to
communicate between the three remote locations and act as relays to the
different fire departments who could not communicate over the large
forest. The Sheriff's Office supplied each of us with portable radios.
We also provided health and welfare traffic, such as confirming that
assets were moved to the correct location or that food and drinks were
provided to the firefighters.
The club maintains three ready-to-go kits: An "Orange Box Kit" that
contains an ICOM IC-2720H, a Kantronics KPC-3+; another box kit that
contains a Yaesu FT-8800; and a "Wooden Box Kit" that contains a Yaesu
FT-1500. At the time of the fires, the club also had one W3FF
"Orange Box" Ready to Go Kit. mast, tripod, a guying assembly, and a
VHF 1/4 wave ground plane manufactured by Centerfire Antenna. (The club
has since been provided with three additional mast/tripod/antenna
kits.)
As soon as I arrived on location, I checked in with the point of
contact and told her why I was there. I looked for the best place to
setup, preferably someplace quiet and out of the way. I originally
attempted to use a 5/8's wave mag mount on a cookie sheet from the
inside of the building, but I was unable to make the repeater. In order
for me to get on the air, I put the mag mount on the roof of the metal
building I was in and ran the coax in through a window.
Lessons Learned
We learned quite a bit from this event. Although all of us were
activated during the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster and numerous
hurricanes that have hit our area, this was new territory for many of
us. Until now, we had not operated from such remote areas. We found
that we needed to add more coax to our go kits. We also found that we
needed more of the mast/tripod/antenna kits that were later donated to
us.
Nacogdoches County Sheriff Thomas Kerss commented, "We realized the
value of incorporating the use of Amateur Radio into our operations
several years ago during the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. We
continue to see that value today. Thanks to the efforts of the local
Amateur Radio operators during the Angelina River Bottom Fire we were
able to establish communication links with emergency responders in
areas of our county that would not have been possible otherwise." --
Andy Delgado, KE5EXX <%20delgado@apollos-dev.com>, Nacogdoches, Texas
==> OPERATORS TO DEMO EMCOMMS IN MICHIGAN
Muskegon, Michigan - Hundreds of Amateur Radio operators across the
country will be displaying their emergency communication capabilities
on Saturday, January 28, 2012. The public is invited to step out and
view what Amateur Radio communications can do in times of emergencies.
The Society for the Preservation of Amateur Radio (SPAR) established a
Winter Field Day
event in
2007 and invited Amateur Radio operators to participate. Using
emergency power, operators will construct, and operate portable
emergency stations in parks, shopping malls, schools, and backyards
across the country. Operators will demonstrate long and short range
voice, data, and Morse code communications.
In the Muskegon area the Muskegon County Emergency Communication
Services, Inc. (MCECS) and the Muskegon Area Amateur Radio Council
(MAARC) will be demonstrating their communication skills at the
Muskegon Conservation Club, North Muskegon, on that Saturday from noon
until 7:00 PM. Other groups from around the country are encouraged to
join in. -- James Duram, K8COP , Emergency
Coordinator, Muskegon County, Michigan
==> MICHIGAN EMCOMM GROUP SELECTS ONE OF ITS OWN FOR AWARD
The Muskegon County (Michigan) Emergency Communication Services, Inc. a
local non-profit amateur radio group involved in emergency
communications, has awarded Barbara Grob, K9BLG, the Al Ronning
Outstanding Service Award. The award is given each December to a member
of the group that has gone above and beyond the call of duty in service
to this organization. This recognition is given in memory of Al
Ronning, K8AER, who was an inspiration to other members of the group in
his tireless effort in public service. Ronning was a member of the
group who died in an automobile crash in December, 2006. James Duram,
K8COP, Emergency Coordinator, Muskegon County, awarded the plaque to
Grob at their December meeting.
==> LETTERS: COML
The item in the December 21, 2011 ARES E-Letter does a good job of
describing the role of the Type III Communications Unit Leader (COML).
However, readers should be aware that actual certification requires
task completion and sign-off of a task book that may be impossible to
achieve if one is not already appropriately employed in a public-safety
agency. Thus, I don't think the rating is achievable for hams not
already "in the business." -- Marty Woll, N6VI, Vice Director, ARRL
Southwestern Division; Assistant DEC, ARESLAX BCUL 15 and Training
Officer, LAFD ACS, CERT III
In the recent ARES E-Letter there was the statement "This COML training
will qualify emergency responders to lead ICS communications units if
they possess the necessary prerequisites, including knowledge of the
following: local communications; communications systems; and regional,
State, and local communications plans." To be more correct, the
training alone doesn't "qualify" emergency responders by itself after
one takes the COML Training (and I have). The most important part of
the process to achieve COML qualification is completion of a task book
that the student receives. This document gets signed off on each of the
tasks by served agency staff in authority to see first hand that the
student demonstrates the capabilities of the position. This task book
must be signed off when the student demonstrates experience in real
world events or exercises. Then, the task book must be submitted to a
State Level organization that has the responsibility for certifying the
student before they can say anything other than they attended the
course. The COML qualification is not awarded until those additional
steps take place. Merely taking the course is not sufficient. I should
note that the Department of Homeland Security Office of Emergency
Communications (DHS - OES) is also running other courses that would be
useful to radio amateurs: COMT and RADO, all being important and
specific roles in the NIMS/ICS framework.
Here in North Carolina we (ARES and MARS) have a strong effort to
support the agencies we serve - and I'm sure the effort is equally as
strong in other states. That being said, I can say with some confidence
that a good number of COMLs in North Carolina who have had their task
books submitted for approval are hams! The DHS OEC staff just last week
came to North Carolina for our second State Communications
Interoperability Summit. There were many hams in attendance, and among
the many events and training opportunities, with Amateur Radio having a
major role in this Summit, there was a two day exercise for COML
students from previous COML courses and a small number of students
demonstrated all the task book capabilities to multiple COML qualified
evaluators so that some or all of their COML tasks could be signed off
by DHS and State qualified evaluators for submission to our State
Interoperability Executive Committee, which certifies COMLs here.
North Carolina has led the way in the number of ARES operators getting
ICS course completion as well as AUXCOMM training: North Carolina
ARES/MARS/AUXCOMM hams are in exercises and real-world demonstrations,
showing our served agencies the benefits of having a partnership with
NIMS/ICS-trained Amateur Radio operators serving the emergency response
agencies in our State, along with the communities they protect and
support. -- P. A. Sadowski, AH6LS, IT Manager, North Carolina State
Highway Patrol Technical Services Unit, Raleigh, North Carolina
==> ARES SUPPORTS MAJOR EXTREME RACING EVENT IN KENTUCKY
The United States Adventure Race Association (USARA) National
Championship Extreme Racing event was held October 7 to 8, 2011 in
McCreary County, Kentucky. It is a cross country extreme Ironman event
consisting of three person coed teams from across the United States,
involving hiking, biking, canoeing, and orienteering.
The event was coordinated at Cumberland Falls State Park, with the race
starting at Blue Heron in the Big South Fork National River and
Recreation Area at 8:00 AM on Friday. The first team finished exactly
20 hours and 15 minutes later in the early morning hours of Saturday.
Communications was provided by Region 5 ARES from McCreary, Pulaski,
and Whitley counties, Kentucky. Operators were positioned at six
Transition Areas, and reported arrivals and departures of each team at
each Areas.
Many legs were involved, starting with a short hike from the start
point before the teams transitioned to mountain bikes. An orienteering
course tested the teams' map and compass ability. At Bell Farm the
teams started a time trial event called "The King of the Mountain,"
which tested the teams' endurance for a climb to the top of Peter's
Mountain Lookout Tower. More biking was followed by the teams
transitioning to canoes to paddle a distance of 5.7 miles, with another
orienteering course at the end of the paddle. More paddling and biking
was followed by more orienteering courses. Total distance was 78.2
miles through some of the most beautiful country in the eastern United
States.
Lessons Learned
ARES operators performed with excellence, totaling 23 hours of
continuous operation. The repeater used was the 444.050 MHz machine,
Williamsburg, Kentucky, owned and maintained by Will Jones, KB4PTJ,
which offered outstanding coverage including hand-held coverage in most
places along the river gorge.
The challenge was the size of the course and the number of operators
who were able to volunteer their time and resources to such a major
task. I was forced to ask several operators to move from one Transition
Point to another to provide information as the contestants checked in
and out. I have had a difficult time recruiting enough ARES members and
that was the main reason for some lack of coverage.
The ARES net control station (NCS) was established in a room at DuPont
Lodge and sent information upstairs to race officials who in turn
posted it on the USARA website. Due to limited access of an entry point
for our coax and antenna location we were forced to be in a separate
room from the race officials. This problem was overcome by the NCS
operators' adaptability, relaying reports from the field by texting and
sending e-mails to race officials. But, the bottom line is the NCS
operation and the USARA bloggers should have been co-located.
Another issue was lack of food for the communications personnel at each
Transition Point. Since all operators were informed to bring their own
food should none be available, it was not a problem. The lesson is:
When deployed on any type of public service event or an actual
emergency, an ARES member should be self sustaining, and not rely on
being provided with this type of support.
The participation by ARES members from different Kentucky districts was
great. Operators fell into place without any problems. NCS was up and
running before the race start and was well staffed with four operators
and several radios to cover the primary as well as the secondary
frequency. Net Control operators were members of the Lake Cumberland
ARA, due to their duty-specific training by Don Munsey, AC4DM, Pulaski
County, and performed flawlessly.
Our effort was typical of an actual emergency response and was
excellent training for all involved. More information on the race here
. -- Randall E. Gilreath,
AD4WB , District Emergency Coordinator, District
11 ARES Kentucky Section
==> K1CE FOR A FINAL
Here is a news story from my home town of Palm Coast, in Flagler
County, Florida, written by Public Information Officer Eddie Cail,
KJ4LRB, that I particularly enjoyed:
2012 ARRL KID'S DAY EVENT
By Eddie Cail, KJ4LRB
Flagler County ARES and The Flagler Palm Coast Amateur Radio Club
hosted the ARRL Kid's Day event this past Sunday in Palm Coast.
Participants included Boy Scout Troop 402 who were working on Radio
merit badges and youth from all over the county.
The objective was to get youth on the air and get them interested in
Amateur Radio by passing basic traffic over HF and other modes.
Children were able to log their traffic and see what it was like to
work stations near and far.
Both groups are working to garner youth's interests and advancing their
education to the point of obtaining their licenses. FPCARC runs a cadet
program year round educating students on various aspects of Amateur
Radio and both organizations hope to run similar events during the
year.
_________
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